Nehemiah 9:12

9:12 You guided them with a pillar of cloud by day and with a pillar of fire by night to illumine for them the path they were to travel.

Exodus 13:21-22

13:21 Now the Lord was going before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them in the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, ¹  so that they could ²  travel day or night. ³  13:22 He did not remove the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people. ⁴ 

Exodus 40:38

40:38 For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, but fire would be ⁵  on it at night, in plain view ⁶  of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.

Numbers 9:15-22

The Leading of the Lord

9:15 ⁷ On ⁸  the day that the tabernacle was set up, ⁹  the cloud ¹⁰  covered the tabernacle – the tent of the testimony ¹¹  – and from evening until morning there was ¹²  a fiery appearance ¹³  over the tabernacle. 9:16 This is the way it used to be continually: The cloud would cover it by day, ¹⁴  and there was a fiery appearance by night. 9:17 Whenever the cloud was taken up ¹⁵  from the tabernacle, then after that the Israelites would begin their journey; and in whatever place ¹⁶  the cloud settled, there the Israelites would make camp. 9:18 At the commandment ¹⁷  of the Lord the Israelites would begin their journey, and at the commandment of the Lord they would make camp; as long as ¹⁸  the cloud remained settled over the tabernacle they would camp. 9:19 When the cloud remained over the tabernacle many days, then the Israelites obeyed the instructions ¹⁹  of the Lord and did not journey.

9:20 When ²⁰  the cloud remained over the tabernacle a number of days, ²¹  they remained camped according to the Lord’s commandment, ²²  and according to the Lord’s commandment they would journey. 9:21 And when ²³  the cloud remained only ²⁴  from evening until morning, when the cloud was taken up ²⁵  the following morning, then they traveled on. Whether by day or by night, when the cloud was taken up they traveled. 9:22 Whether it was for two days, or a month, or a year, ²⁶  that the cloud prolonged its stay ²⁷  over the tabernacle, the Israelites remained camped without traveling; ²⁸  but when it was taken up, they traveled on.

Numbers 14:14

14:14 then they will tell it to the inhabitants ²⁹  of this land. They have heard that you, Lord, are among this people, that you, Lord, are seen face to face, ³⁰  that your cloud stands over them, and that you go before them by day in a pillar of cloud and in a pillar of fire by night.

Isaiah 4:5-6

4:5 Then the Lord will create

over all of Mount Zion ³¹ 

and over its convocations

a cloud and smoke by day

and a bright flame of fire by night; ³² 

indeed a canopy will accompany the Lord’s glorious presence. ³³ 

4:6 By day it will be a shelter to provide shade from the heat,

as well as safety and protection from the heavy downpour. ³⁴ 

Isaiah 4:1

4:1 Seven women will grab hold of

one man at that time. ³⁵ 

They will say, “We will provide ³⁶  our own food,

we will provide ³⁷  our own clothes;

but let us belong to you ³⁸  –

take away our shame!” ³⁹ 

Colossians 1:1-2

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ⁴⁰  an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 1:2 to the saints, the faithful ⁴¹  brothers and sisters ⁴²  in Christ, at Colossae. Grace and peace to you ⁴³  from God our Father! ⁴⁴ 

[13:21]  ¹ sn God chose to guide the people with a pillar of cloud in the day and one of fire at night, or, as a pillar of cloud and fire, since they represented his presence. God had already appeared to Moses in the fire of the bush, and so here again is revelation with fire. Whatever the exact nature of these things, they formed direct, visible revelations from God, who was guiding the people in a clear and unambiguous way. Both clouds and fire would again and again represent the presence of God in his power and majesty, guiding and protecting his people, by judging their enemies.

[13:21]  ² tn The infinitive construct here indicates the result of these manifestations – “so that they went” or “could go.”

[13:21]  ³ tn These are adverbial accusatives of time.

[13:22]  ⁴ sn See T. W. Mann, “The Pillar of Cloud in the Reed Sea Narrative,” JBL 90 (1971): 15-30.

[40:38]  ⁵ tn Here is another imperfect tense of the customary nuance.

[40:38]  ⁶ tn Heb “to the eyes of all”; KJV, ASV, NASB “in the sight of all”; NRSV “before the eyes of all.”

[9:15]  ⁷ sn This section (Num 9:15-23) recapitulates the account in Exod 40:34 but also contains some additional detail about the cloud that signaled Israel’s journeys. Here again material from the book of Exodus is used to explain more of the laws for the camp in motion.

[9:15]  ⁸ tn Heb “and/now on the day.”

[9:15]  ⁹ tn The construction uses the temporal expression with the Hiphil infinitive construct followed by the object, the tabernacle. “On the day of the setting up of the tabernacle” leaves the subject unstated, and so the entire clause may be expressed in the passive voice.

[9:15]  ¹⁰ sn The explanation and identification of this cloud has been a subject of much debate. Some commentators have concluded that it was identical with the cloud that led the Israelites away from Egypt and through the sea, but others have made a more compelling case that this is a different phenomenon (see ZPEB 4:796). A number of modern scholars see the description as a retrojection from later, perhaps Solomonic times (see G. H. Davies, IDB 3:817). Others have tried to connect it with Ugaritic terminology, but unconvincingly (see T. W. Mann, “The Pillar of Cloud in the Reed Sea Narrative,” JBL 90 [1971]: 15-30; G. E. Mendenhall, The Tenth Generation, 32-66, 209-13; and R. Good, “Cloud Messengers?” UF 10 [1978]: 436-37).

[9:15]  ¹¹ sn The cloud apparently was centered over the tent, over the spot of the ark of the covenant in the most holy place. It thereafter spread over the whole tabernacle.

[9:15]  ¹² tn The imperfect tense in this and the next line should be classified as a customary imperfect, stressing incomplete action but in the past time – something that used to happen, or would happen.

[9:15]  ¹³ tn Heb “like the appearance of fire.”

[9:16]  ¹⁴ tc The MT lacks the words “by day,” but a number of ancient versions have this reading (e.g., Greek, Syriac, Tg. Ps.-J., Latin Vulgate).

[9:17]  ¹⁵ tn The verb in this initial temporal clause is the Niphal infinitive construct.

[9:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “in the place where it settled there”; the relative clause modifies the noun “place,” and the resumptive adverb completes the related idea – “which it settled there” means “where it settled.”

[9:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “at the mouth of” (so also in vv. 20, 23).

[9:18]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “all the days of – that the cloud settled over the tabernacle.” “All” is the adverbial accusative of time telling how long they camped in one spot – all. The word is then qualified by the genitive of the thing measured – “all of the days” – and this in turn is qualified by a noun clause functioning as a genitive after “days of.”

[9:19]  ¹⁹ tn This is the same Hebrew expression that was used earlier for the Levites “keeping their charge” or more clearly, “fulfilling their obligations” to take care of the needs of the people and the sanctuary. It is a general expression using שָׁמַר (shamar) followed by its cognate noun מִשְׁמֶרֶת (mishmeret).

[9:20]  ²⁰ tn The sentence uses וְיֵשׁ (vÿyesh) followed by a noun clause introduced with אֲשֶׁר (’asher) to express an existing situation; it is best translated as an adverbial clause of time: “and it was when the cloud was….”

[9:20]  ²¹ tn The word “number” is in apposition to the word “days” to indicate that their stay was prolonged for quite a few days.

[9:20]  ²² tn Heb “mouth of the Lord.”

[9:21]  ²³ tn The construction is the same in the preceding verse.

[9:21]  ²⁴ tn “Only” is supplied to reflect the contrast between the two verses.

[9:21]  ²⁵ tn The construction in this half of the verse uses two vav (ו) consecutive clauses. The first is subordinated to the second as a temporal clause: “when…then….”

[9:22]  ²⁶ tn The MT has אוֹ־יָמִים (’o-yamim). Most translators use “or a year” to interpret this expression in view of the sequence of words leading up to it, as well as in comparison with passages like Judg 17:10 and 1 Sam 1:3 and 27:7. See also the uses in Gen 40:4 and 1 Kgs 17:15. For the view that it means four months, see F. S. North, “Four Month Season of the Hebrew Bible,” VT 11 (1961): 446-48.

[9:22]  ²⁷ tn In the Hebrew text this sentence has a temporal clause using the preposition with the Hiphil infinitive construct of אָרַךְ (’arakh) followed by the subjective genitive, “the cloud.” But this infinitive is followed by the infinitive construct לִשְׁכֹּן (lishkon), the two of them forming a verbal hendiadys: “the cloud made long to stay” becomes “the cloud prolonged its stay.”

[9:22]  ²⁸ tn Heb “and they would not journey”; the clause can be taken adverbially, explaining the preceding verbal clause.

[14:14]  ²⁹ tn The singular participle is to be taken here as a collective, representing all the inhabitants of the land.

[14:14]  ³⁰ tn “Face to face” is literally “eye to eye.” It only occurs elsewhere in Isa 52:8. This expresses the closest communication possible.

[4:5]  ³¹ tn Heb “over all the place, Mount Zion.” Cf. NLT “Jerusalem”; CEV “the whole city.”

[4:5]  ³² tn Heb “a cloud by day, and smoke, and brightness of fire, a flame by night.” Though the accents in the Hebrew text suggest otherwise, it might be preferable to take “smoke” with what follows, since one would expect smoke to accompany fire.

[4:5]  ³³ tn Heb “indeed (or “for”) over all the glory, a canopy.” This may allude to Exod 40:34-35, where a cloud overshadows the meeting tent as it is filled with God’s glory.

[4:6]  ³⁴ tn Heb “a shelter it will be for shade by day from heat, and for a place of refuge and for a hiding place from cloudburst and rain.” Since both of the last nouns of this verse can mean rain, they can either refer to the rain storm and the rain as distinct items or together refer to a heavy downpour. Regardless, they do not represent unrelated phenomena.

[4:1]  ³⁵ tn Or “in that day” (ASV).

[4:1]  ³⁶ tn Heb “eat” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “buy.”

[4:1]  ³⁷ tn Heb “wear” (so NASB, NRSV); NCV “make.”

[4:1]  ³⁸ tn Heb “only let your name be called over us.” The Hebrew idiom “call the name over” indicates ownership. See 2 Sam 12:28, and BDB 896 s.v. I ָקרָא Niph. 2.d.(4). The language reflects the cultural reality of ancient Israel, where women were legally the property of their husbands.

[4:1]  ³⁹ sn This refers to the humiliation of being unmarried and childless. The women’s words reflect the cultural standards of ancient Israel, where a woman’s primary duties were to be a wife and mother.

[1:1]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

[1:2]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “and faithful.” The construction in Greek (as well as Paul’s style) suggests that the saints are identical to the faithful; hence, the καί (kai) is best left untranslated (cf. Eph 1:1). See ExSyn 281-82.

[1:2]  ⁴² tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1, where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

[1:2]  ⁴³ tn Or “Grace to you and peace.”

[1:2]  ⁴⁴ tc Most witnesses, including some important ones (א A C F G I [P] 075 Ï it bo), read “and the Lord Jesus Christ” at the end of this verse, no doubt to conform the wording to the typical Pauline salutation. However, excellent and early witnesses (B D K L Ψ 33 81 1175 1505 1739 1881 al sa) lack this phrase. Since the omission is inexplicable as arising from the longer reading (otherwise, these mss would surely have deleted the phrase in the rest of the corpus Paulinum), it is surely authentic.